Author: russloomis

August 6, 2025

Last night was cool with a dry breeze. I slept well and woke refreshed from the long climbs getting here.  This morning the breeze was strong and cool so the tent was dry. This made it easy packing everything into the panniers. I also didn’t feel rushed so the morning coffee was enjoyed while sitting in my chair.

Leaving was also relaxed, no ticking clock rushing me out onto the road. I stopped to visit people I passed, one is a Warmshowers Host in Ludington.

The roads on this day were very ordinary. Scenery like I’m so used to seeing.

Until, I pass a small farm stand selling fresh cut flowers with a man working in a garden. This made me commit to buying some Gladiolas. I turned around and rode into the driveway. I bought three stems and then mounted them onto my panniers for the fifteen mile ride to Cartier City Campground.

Nancy was surprised by the gift of flowers. I was surprised that they made the trip with only one lost petal.

Cartier City Campground, the camping Suburbia.

I will stay here a few days hiking the trails and seeing the sites in Ludington. Nancy is feeling much better, some pain while moving.  She is eager to walk the trails. Moe is always ready for new sniffs.

August 5, 2025

I found out last night that Nancy has been in a lot of pain and breathing was painful. She decided to go to Urgent Care in Ludington. She is staying at the campground there. Turns out that she broke two ribs when she fell while packing up as we were leaving Brevoort Lake.

This morning I thought that I would attempt riding the two day distance today. This would be close to eighty miles. I also kept the thought of seeing how I felt when I got to Orchard Beach. After Orchard Beach there are no options for camping until Ludington.

Once on the road I felt good about riding the full distance to Nancy’s campsite. I rode into Frankfort with a good pace and easy effort. I stopped at an A&W for a breakfast sandwich and strawberry milkshake.

I began riding fueled and confident of riding into Ludington before 8:00 PM. Within less than two miles I began to question this hopeful feat. I was climbing a steep hill that crested one mile later. Damn where did this come from? Then another followed by six more. Eight long hard climbs in the hot sun and I am only half way to Ludington.

When I got to Orchard Beach I rode into the campground and registered for a site. I called Nancy to tell her that I would not be there tonight.

There is a cool breeze with the sounds of waves. I hope to sleep well tonight.

Sunset over Lake Michigan.

I planned to leave around 9:00 this morning. I had booked one of the two last sites at Platte River National Park. It is waiting for me forty six miles away.

To my surprise today’s breakfast is buckwheat waffles, fruits and berries, sausage and whipped cream. And of course coffee and juice

Now I’m all packed up and ready to roll on down the road.

I rode by the last two houses on this street, I’m now back on my route heading south.

Shortly I entered Sleeping Bear Dunes.

Here the dunes are two hundred feet high and block Lake Michigan from view.

Most of my ride is through farmland and forest.

I get to the park and register. I have a walk-in site about three hundred feet from the parking spaces and the bathroom/showers. With camp set up. I ride back to the road and picked up dinner at a near by store.

The end of the day.

August 3, 2025

I rode out of town on busy Route 31(US Bike RT 35). The shoulder is wide and the traffic is busy for a Sunday morning. A few miles up the road I turn left to stay on US Bike Route 35. If you travel on a bicycle you know that there is a network of bicycle friendly roads across the country. These roads are strung together and given a US Bike Route number. Most intersections have this signage posted making it easier to travel on bike friendly roads. If you follow a US Bike Route you may be on a State Highway with a wide shoulder, a small country road, or a bike path.

I am now off the busy road and riding through farmlands and forest. I’m rolling up and down hills without the sound of steady traffic.

This back road ends onto another busy State Road. This time I crossed it after a long wait for the traffic to break. I speed across in the opened window to the opposite shoulder to a Trailhead of the T.A.R.P Trail. I will follow this trail all the way to Suttons Bay thirty miles away.

An ice cream shop is open, I stop for a milkshake. From here I cruise into Traverse City along the City Beach.

Once more I am back in the country.

I stop at an intersection to photograph a carved statue.

Dan coasts over and stops to talk. He is interested in touring and feels like he need a push to begin. We talk awhile and I share my experiences and stories with him. He is out for a ride, he lives near by and knows the area so he offered to ride with me and guide me to my Warmshowers house.

After I arrive we talk a bit more, he is anxious to get home and follow our tours.

I try a local beer offered by Pete I head to the shower while he begins preparing our dinner, pasta with fresh vegetables, sauce and local sausage.

While setting up the poles for the tent a section broke. So I had to take the pole apart to put the repart piece in place.

This morning my day began with brewing coffee, Elbow Room, from beans I carry with me while on tour. After a nice breakfast of hard boiled eggs and oatmeal I begin breaking camp and packing panniers. Last night I was unable to find a place to camp in a fifty mile range. So I opted to head to a State Park twenty-five miles from here.

After all was set to go I took a walk to the beach.

Ten miles from the chosen State Park I got an email from a Warmshowers Host accepting my request.

This just added another forty-five miles to my day.

I arrived about 6:30 PM, dinner was about to be served. After we ate I showered and settled in. Tonight is Harbor Days, fireworks will start at ten.

The show.

July 30, 2025

An option to get to Mackinaw City by bike was to ferry to Mackinac Island and then ferry over to the city. Or, Nancy could bring me over the bridge so I could get back on route. The island looked like an interesting place to visit so I suggested that we both ferry to the island and then return to our campsite and tomorrow ride with Nancy over the bridge.

We booked a ferry to check out Mackinac Island. This thirty minute ride gave us a voyage across the water. Moe was a bit unsure at first, this was only his second ferry ride. His first was in 2022 in the State of Washington.

Touring the island by foot is the only way to get around except by bicycle or horse. Cars are not allowed on this island. It was a wonderful feeling to walk the streets and get the sense of life pre-automobile.

Arched Rock

Back at the campground and ready for bed, tomorrow we pack up and continue our tour down the east shore of Lake Michigan.

July 31, 2025

We leave at noon for St. Ignace and the bridge that will take us to Mackinaw City. I have a campsite reserved at Wilderness State Park, six miles out of the city.

I unload and settle into my site, Nancy drove off to her Campground on Otsego Lake.

Early evening Troy, a bike tourist, rides up to my site. He is also camping here a few sites away. Later I walk to his site and we visit until sunset. He has ridden this area a few times and suggested places to camp and interesting places to visit.

The sunset.

The moon.

August 1, 2025

This morning I was not in a hurry. Good thing.  As I was breaking camp and packing up people stopped by to ask about my tour. One at a time I talked extensively about how I started touring, my history cycling, and describing many benefits of seeing the country on back roads at ten miles per hour. I did finally click in to kick off for another day on the road.

I rode by a section of sand dunes that are high enough to block the lake. Back in camp a Park Ranger stopped to see if I was riding through the “sand dunes” and the “tunnel of trees”.

The Sand Dunes

The Tunnel of Trees

Riding through nice small towns.

I rode into Petoskey State Park around 5:00PM. Michigan is one of the States that will guarantee any cyclist riding through a site to camp the night when there is no vacancy. The State saves a sites only for this purpose.

I am now showered, fed, and resting.

July 28, 2025

10:59 AM 

A later start than expected. This spot is nestled in the trees with a forest like feel. The sites are spread out which gave me a sense of solitude. The morning sun was blocked behind the trees with light peeking through the branches. This made drying the dew difficult, setting and replacing things back onto the moving patches of light.

Morning wakes up the sleeping campers and my site is next to the water. People are making their way to fill water jugs. Some just trudge by, still half asleep. Other look into my site and see the row of panniers waiting to be mounted. They stop to satisfy the curiosity of why, where did I start, and where am I headed. For some it’s unbelievable. For the few it leads to long conversations that sparks an urge to maybe someday they’d like to do this.

So this is why the late start. It’s ok I have a short day to Brevoort Lake Campground where I will again join Nancy.

11:41 AM 

View from Epoufette Park.

Finally off Route 2 and riding on a nice quiet local road to the Campground.

1:00 PM

Off the bike for the day. A pint of Ben and Jerry’s with a Dr Pepper, relaxing in the campground.

Day’s end, sun getting lower and a cool breeze.

Crawling out of the tent into the damp heavy fog I realized that today I was not going anywhere soon. Everything in the outside air was wet. So I packed what was dry and began the long wait. I removed the rain fly and snapped it like a wet towel. This took care of the drops of dew covering the surface but it was just as wet on the underside. I shook off the tent and carried it over to a spot of sunshine between the road and vault toilet. The drying began. This also prompted a park maintenance worker to stop and tell me that I cannot camp here. I told her that I’ve camped in this spot for three nights and no one else told me that I could camp here. This was a person with no sense of humor. She continued to scowl. After telling her that I was only drying my tent in this tiny spot of sunlight she grumbled her way out of sight. I then went over to the host site for coffee and a donut. Tales of travels were told and received.

I go back to my site to pack up what is dry.  A visitor stopped to ask about my tour and talked about his hiking adventures, the Appalachian and the Pacific Crest Trails.

Back on the road or mostly the eight foot shoulder of Route 2, the main route across the Upper Peninsula. Breathing exhaust from the traffic rushing by on the shadeless road. Miles, miles, and miles between towns. I saw Nancy go by heading to her next campsite. She, however, did not see me and disappeared.

I get to Naubinway and stop at a great burger and fish restaurant, I order a burger and milkshake. Then off to the gas station next door for bottles of gatorade. There I met a woman from England on a tour from Astoria, Oregon to Massachusetts. She and her husband are staying at the motel in town.

Now at Hog Island Point State Forest Campground I am relaxing after setting up the tent.

This morning I began riding again. Today I will start seeing the Upper Peninsula bicycle speed. Escanaba is connected to Gladstone by a bike trail along the shore of Lake Michigan.

Beyond Gladstone just small towns are scattered within the vast tundra like landscape.

Closing in on the campground with nine miles to go I stop at Latulip Brewing Company, a local brewery, fifteen minutes before it is about to open. This small brewery is family owned. It opened its doors in 2020 as COVID began revving up its grip. It survived and is now in the process of expanding its capacity. I sampled a few of the dozen taps, made my choice, an IPA and a Pils. I drank the IPA with my pizza and brought the Pils with me to camp.

The tent is pitched and the last three slices of pizza are now eaten.

Time to crack open the Pils.

Indian Lake State Park has a nice campground. I’m away from all traffic noise and close to the lake. I have a large shaded site. And, the camp host offers free coffee and donuts from 8:00 to 10:00 each morning. The donuts are donated by a local market and the State provides the coffee.

Waiting for the sun to set.

The sunset.